My New Apron & USA Food Arrived Today!

There’s nothing better than getting a package delivered to the door or finding card from the postie in the mailbox telling me that there’s a package waiting at the post office for a signature. Well, today I had both!

The envelope contained my new designer apron from Kitchen Threads. I met Annette (@kitchen_threadz) through Twitter and ordered a whiz bang red apron and asked her to be creative. I slowly opened the envelope – prolonging the excitement, as one does.

Almost there! I should probably say that I got the notice card in the mailbox on Friday but didn’t see it until Saturday morning. Post office was closed. I went to the post office to pick it up yesterday (Monday) and it was a holiday here in Queensland. So I’ve been waiting not quite so patiently to get my package.

Voilà!!

Isn’t it cute? I love the colors and it’s going to be easy to wipe off all the extra flour I tend to get all over me when I cook. If there were a neatness prize for cooking I would be in the lowest 5%. It’s all about the food though, so don’t peek in my kitchen until after the cleaning up is over. My mother swore I could use every utensil in the kitchen at every meal. Maybe. I think that’s a slight exagerration.

Back to the apron. It’s beautifully constructed. In my past life I was a general manager of a textile manufacturing company in Knoxville, Tennessee. I know stitching. The first thing I looked at (sorry, Annette) was how it was constructed and she’s done a brilliant job. Look at how fine the stitching is. Cheap stuff has about 7 stitches to the inch. These are so fine I couldn’t be bothered counting. Thanks a lot for my apron and I will wear it with joy and think of you every time I put it on.

After my apron was opened and well photographed I moved on to the box from USA Foods in Melbourne. As an American living in Australia there are a few things that I miss that can’t be found at the local grocery stores. Okay quite a lot of things but only a few cause me to open my wallet and spring for the prices that the imported goods cost.

If you’re a yank like me living in Australia and miss American food ingredients and you don’t already shop here, have a look at their stock. Their customer service is great. I’ve always received my orders on time and I’ve never missed out on anything I ordered and nothing has ever been broken.

What cook can make American recipes without shortening or kosher salt? Every once in a while, you’ve just got to have a casserole with French friend onions on top, don’t you? I do. When I’m feeling homesick for my children or grandchildren, I cook something “American.” Honestly, I ordered the jelly bellies just to fill out the box. I knew there’d be a small space and I didn’t want things to rattle around. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Peek inside at all that fruity flavor!

It was a lovely package filled day! Now I’m craving *real* onion rings. I’m going to try some later using a beer batter and panko breadcrumbs. I’ll let you know how it goes.